Belonging to a lower caste, Pushpa DEVI has expressed that the changes in her life after joining her SHG have been innumerable, increasing her awareness and involvement when in come to health, education, livelihood opportunities, family investment plans, and even political participation. With her initial borrowed amount of Rs. 100
Anju mostly lives with her own family while her husband is gone for work in Mumbai. In his absence, Anju had a miscarriage two months into her pregnancy with her first child. During this time, she had no awareness or access to vital information about what vaccinations or what precautions
Gayapati had long wanted a toilet constructed in her home. Lack of money and little support from her family, who did not see it as priority, prevented this from happening. During one of her SHG meeting, she learned it would be possible to borrow money to finally execute this project.
Before joiing a SHG, Aashiqui’s first-born child died of pneumonia, due to lack of information and awareness. With no guidance and resources, she had no knowledge of how to properly care for her baby. Specifically, she knew nothing of necessary swaddling practices, like Kangaroo Mother Care and wasn’t aware of
It took Seeta 28 years to venture out into the world with enough confidence to make her own deposit at the local bank. Before joining a SHG, her life was confined to the four walls of her house in a large joint family living on subsistence agriculture. Winters were especially
Rehmatul was married into a poor family of bonded labourers and her life was a daily struggle for food and water. When her son died of meningitis, her husband went into deep depression. It was the support of the women in her SHG that offered a ray of hope. With financial
Shama barely had time to recover from the tragic deaths of her father and brother when her in-laws, who deemed her inauspicious, kicked her out of her house. She was forced to flee with her six children without shelter and resources, living like a pariah of Uttar Pradesh. She was approached
Suman had little to look forward to in life. Married at fifteen and belonging to the Dalit Ahirwar community (lower caste), she was confined to her home and always veiled. She had very little education and even lesser money to escape the vicious cycle of poverty. She reached her breaking point